PANAJI: Even as Goa Medical College was forced to expand its ICU facilities as Covid-19 cases multiplied in April, the state’s largest healthcare establishment doesn’t have a single intensivist.
Its ICU beds are currently managed by the stretched anaesthesia department, and the ICU at the super-specialty block is being guided by a cardiac anaesthetist from the cardiology department.
GMC’s attempts to hire an intensivist have been futile so far.
The last time this post was advertised was during the first wave last year.
Dean Dr S M Bandekar said that the salary demands of intensivists are high, which they can’t meet.
A consultant joining any super-specialty department at GMC is paid Rs 3 lakh per month at an entry-level.
“We are willing to hire an intensivist, but nobody wants to join us for salary reasons.
Dr Sunil Sagar, under whose leadership the ICU in the super-speciality block has been set up this month, is as good as an intensivist.
He is one of the best we have.
He has a DM in anaesthesia,” Bandekar said.
The role of an intensivist is critical in ICUs, as this specialist has knowledge of how various treatments affect the organs of a patient, and accordingly regulates fluid intake by precisely considering other parameters.
Bandekar added that while GMC doesn’t have an intensivist per see, he said its ICU staff is well-trained.
The ICU beds at GMC and the South Goa district hospital are being managed by around 17 anaestheia staffers and a dozen post-grad students and doctors serving bond.
Besides 150-plus Covid ICU beds, GMC also has 35 non-covid ICU beds.
A senior doctor said that while GMC’s ICU staff is trained, by no stretch of the imagination can it be said that it’s adequate.
“It is tough going for GMC with so little staff, especially when the hospital has been handling loads of critical cases.
However, in Goa, we don’t have intensivists,” the doctor said.
It is not just government hospitals but even private ones — except 2-3 major ones — are currently without intensivists.
A while ago, GMC had tried to get a doctor serving bond trained as an intensivist.
She completed a year’s training in ICU post her MD in anaesthesia.
“For a brief period, we had an intensivist, but she went back to her home state after marriage,” said Bandekar.